It has long been known that the three most essential nutritional elements sought by plants for healthy growth are Nitrogen ("N"), Phosphorus ("P"), and Potassium ("K"). Along with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen available from air and water, these macronutrients are the primary ingredients of plant growth. Most fertilizers are sold with N-P-K designations such as 13-13-13 or 20-10-10, to designate the respective levels of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. Some common N-P-K formulations and their recommended uses follow:
1. 5-10-10 for annuals
2. 5-10-5 for perennials
3. 10-10-10 for bulbs
4. 21-7-14 for grass lawns
Concentrated formulations according to the same ratios may also be used by merely adjusting the rate at which the fertilizer is applied. The most commonly used formulation for roses has traditionally been 15-15-15 in northern climates and 10-10-10 in warmer southern climates.
It has also been discovered that most plants require certain additional micronutrients and trace elements in order to exhibit the most robust growth characteristics. Such micronutrients and trace elements include iron and magnesium, which aid in plant photosynthesis, as well as boron, copper, iodine, zinc, calcium, manganese, and sulfur. It is believed that there may be additional micronutrients and functional compounds such as amino acids which also contribute to robust growth. Various natural and organic materials are often employed in plant feeding in hopes of supplying such unknown nutrients and functional compounds.
For instance, in the field of rose cultivation, rose growers have followed a variety of routines over the growing season in an effort to achieve the most robust growth possible. A popular protocol has involved the application of a water soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer one week; the application of magnesium sulfate the next week; the application of fish emulsion the following week; and the application of a product containing micronutrients and urea (a high nitrogen content ingredient) in the fourth week. Such protocols provided effective rose nutrition but at great expense of time and effort by rose growers. Attempts to mix the various ingredients together resulted in solutions in which some elements required by the plants precipitated out of solution and therefore failed to provide the desired plant nutrition.
Further difficulties have been encountered in trying to provide plant foods containing fish solubles, and soluble seaweed extracts. Problems with fish solubles include oiliness and odor. A particular problem with soluble seaweed extracts has been that seaweed extract absorbs moisture rapidly and therefore is difficult to mix as a dry fertilizer. If seaweed extract is successfully mixed, the resulting fertilizer mixtures tend to cake and therefore cannot easily be applied by the end user except by dissolving the entire package of fertilizer. This obviously presents a problem to the small or recreational gardener who may expect one package of fertilizer to last for several applications or even several months.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved soluble plant food containing micronutrients that results in more robust plant growth.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a dry plant food containing fish solubles and soluble seaweed extracts that provides a dry flowable mixture without caking but which is completely soluble in water.